Voice Mail Pro 9.1 - User/admin remote activation of an emergency greeting

[Jerrberr]

IP Office 9.1
Voice Mail Pro 9.1

Ok, so here it goes. The voice mail module is set up with AA Day Greeting and AA Night greeting. Does anyone know how to set up a module for the user to activate a "condition" greeting remotely by phone?
I have a module for day greeting and a separate for night and in manager the hunt groups over flows and phantom extensions set up as well as the short codes. It all works but now I need to make it simple for the client to access and activate remotely.
Example - The playlist editor( already set up and working) controls the ability to remotely "record" any of the 4 greeting files, Day, Night, Condition and Holiday. But if it is bad weather and the office is closed or delayed and the greeting is recorded remotely how can I set it up to be activated overriding the normal night greeting. The night button is manual forwarding . I can do it in a manager remotely, but this is to complicated for the client. They just need a phone prompt to activate the greeting in the voicemail after they record it.

appreciate the feedback..

Jerrberr

 

[janni78]

Easiest is probably to have a variable that decides if you gonna play the regular night greeting or the holiday greeting.

The user could change the variable from the recording menu or you build a separate module to change the variable.

"Trying is the first step to failure..." - Homer

 

[sizbut]

As said look at creating a callflow that uses some Test User Variable and Set User Variable actions to toggle the value of the variable used for setting the office open or closed in the existing callflow. Record some prompts so the toggle also announces the current setting for confirmation.

If you can't create a different route for your admin callers to get to it, then have it reached as an unannounced branch in the existing callflow (ie. have a menu action in the general callflow which after hearing whether the office is already set closed or open, lets those in the know press some pseudo PIN to get to the new callflow for changing the variable) and disconnects the rest after a timeout.

Stuck in a never ending cycle of file copying.

 

[Jerrberr]

Ahh I see where your going. ok yeah I set the playlist edit recordings under an unannounced branch and pin. However it is that "variable" setup that is confusing me. How do I tie it to a list (day, night condition, holiday) of greetings being selected and then used by the auto attendant?

Thanks for the responses
I really appreciate the input!

Jerr

 

[ThePhoneMn]

First, create a variable, you can find out how this is done in the Help section.

Then, create the unannounced branch, which will have 2 options (ie: Press 1 to set Normal, press 2 to set Inclement). Pressing 1 will send to a Set Variable Action, which will toggle the variable to "Normal". Pressing 2 will send to Set Variable Action and set variable to anything other than Normal, like "Inclement". All of this will have to be programmed by you.

Now before your AA Day and AA Night, you will include a Test Variable Action. If the Variable chosen matches "Normal" (and it would only if someone called in and pressed 1 to set the Variable to Normal), then the action is True. Anything else, like Inclement, will return a false.

Just remember, to turn off the variable override, they must call back in and set back to Normal.

Been there, done that

 

[DavidCT]

A solution I've found works well for non tech end users is to have your existing aa use two separate greetings... A "pre greeting" such as "thank you for calling xyz widgets" and the next greeting which provides the auto attendant options.

You can do the above with a single action, having it play both greetings.

Then you use the modules you already have that allow the end user to modify the pre greeting only. They simply change it from "thank you for calling xyz widgets" to "thank you for calling xyz widgets, our office is closed due to inclement weather...". When they no longer need the extra information, they record a new thank you for calling greeting.

Another play on the above is to have the pre recording be empty "dead air" when not in use, and the end user records a greeting when needed.

 

[IPGuru]

I have a default modue I always use whch checks conditions for opening hours, holidays & "Emergency" conditions
this module can then be inserted at the front of the auto attendant iving the necessary exit points to make teh AA call flo easy to configre & much cleaner to read

For remote activation whre ever possible I use CLI routing to restrict who can activate the condition (It also means an additional DDI is not required as an existing DI can be efectivly re-used)



Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

 

[joe2938]

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Download the "Standard Base Configuration" created by Kyle Holladay from this page

Have a look at the VoicemailPro.mdb (import into VM Pro Client, you don't have to make live on a real system)

From menuDay and menuNight, you can dial a hidden code to get to menuRecordngs. From menuRecordings, dial 0 to get to menuEmergencyClosure. In menuEmergencyClosure, you select the site (site 1), it tests a user variable to determine if the system is in Emergency mode now, asks you to set the mode or record the emergency greeting, and then confirms what mode you set it to.

All the way back at menuDay, it first jumps to checkConditions to see if it is a holiday or if the system is in Emergency mode. (I'd probably move the Emergency check to be the 1st one, not the last one). If Emergency is set on, it plays your custom Emergency Greeting, and then menuNight.

The incoming call route always sends calls to menuDay, where the determination is made to play the Day AA, Night AA, Holiday+Night AA, or Emergency+Night AA.

Just some food for thought on how to use variables and make it able to be accessed remotely.